Sanderson Farms has agreed to continue to process chickens from House of Raeford Farms at its facility in St Pauls, North Carolina, US.

House of Raeford Farms operates poultry grow-out operations and processing facilities in four southeastern states.

Sanderson Farms has been assisting House of Raeford Farms on a temporary basis after the latter’s facility in North Carolina was severely damaged due to a fire accident that occurred in February.

Sanderson Farms chairman and CEO Joe Sanderson said: “We believe this processing agreement will be beneficial to Sanderson Farms.

"We hope to benefit from favourable chicken markets as we head into the busy summer months.”

“Our St Pauls facility just commenced production in January, and our new managers and employees will gain valuable training and processing experience with this accelerated production schedule. We hope to benefit from favourable chicken markets as we head into the busy summer months.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanderson Farms will purchase, process and sell chickens grown by House of Raeford Farms through mid-December. The deal will also have an option to process chickens on a fee basis.

The company anticipates that its St. Pauls processing plant will generate nearly 20.4 million pounds, 26.3 million pounds and 12.4 million pounds of additional volume in its third fiscal quarter, fourth fiscal quarter of this year and first fiscal quarter of next year, respectively.